I fight everyday with my addiction I say to myself I will just go and put $100 in the pokies and I could win $4000 which I’ve done before and have put all back in and more probably 5 weeks since I have played I have some money put away for emergencies thought about playing today and then I thought I have to pay bills with my money how can I afford to play these machines so I did not go I hope I can be strong and stay away from these machines

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your story with us here. Well done for stopping gambling for 5 weeks, I can see this is has been tough but you have managed to stop and think about the possible impacts of your gambling and stayed away. Breaking the cycle of gambling is difficult, by slowing down the process, thinking about things more and introducing new routines, you can begin to change your behaviour. Calling Gambling Helpline when you are struggling through the urges can also be useful, they have counsellors available 24 hours a day to support you on 1800 858 858. Alternatively, you can go to this website to access some self-help tools: